When the SECURE Act was passed in late 2019 and the CARES Act in Spring 2020, retirement plans were expected to adopt appropriate amendments by the end of 2022. While the IRS in Notice 2022-33 and Notice 2022-45 extended the...more
The just-signed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) contains several provisions to help multiemployer and single employer plans fund retiree benefits. Two less-noticed provisions greatly increase the child care tax credit and...more
In May 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS issued guidance to toll various notices, claims, and election deadlines due to COVID-19, including COBRA elections. Examples in the guidance assumed that the National...more
The SECURE Act was passed in late 2019, in what seems like another era, with the goal of increasing participation in 401(k) plans. One way to reach that goal was a new mandate, starting in 2021, to track long-term, part-time...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued temporary relief for sponsors of safe harbor retirement plans considering reduction or suspension of safe harbor contributions due to COVID 19. ...more
Employers impacted by COVID-19 have a variety of questions regarding the situation’s effect on employee health and welfare plans - particularly on how to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations....more
This advisory summarizes key provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) applying to employee benefit plans. We provide a summary of key items and more detailed FAQs relating to...more
3/30/2020
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CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Telehealth
The recently passed spending bill to keep the federal government operating included a last minute addition: the SECURE Act, almost identical to the bill passed by a nearly unanimous House in May 2019. ...more
A new California law requires employers who sponsor flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to notify employees of any deadline that requires them to withdraw FSA funds before the end of the plan year. Although the law is only...more
In a previous blog, we discussed the potential changes under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of interest to plan participants. ...more
In a rare bipartisan display, the House passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act by a vote of 417-3. The Act now goes to the Senate for reconciliation with similar bills and hopefully...more
A D.C. federal district court struck down DOL rules allowing expanded Association Health Plans (AHPs), effectively putting that new insurance market on hold. ...more
Following closely along the path blazed by the new Association Health Plan (AHP) rules (see our detailed advisories here and here), the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued proposed regulations to allow multiple employers to...more
This advisory examines the most innovative and controversial aspect of the new Association Health Plan (AHP) regulation: Allowing individual “working owners,” such as a self-employed person, partner, or independent...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has just released a final regulation allowing more employers to band together to form Association Health Plans (AHPs). The goal of the rule is to allow small employers to use the pricing...more
On Friday, December 22, 2017, the 1,100-page tax bill was signed into law. The bill promises to bring about the most impactful tax reform that plan sponsors and their advisors have seen in decades. Join Davis Wright Tremaine...more
Insurers have been pressuring the Trump Administration to relieve some of the uncertainty from the pending ACA “repeal/replace” debate in time for them to decide whether to participate in the individual health insurance...more
The IRS has extended the relief available to employers who offer an “opt-out” payment to employees who decline company medical coverage. This means that for 2017, such payments, whether conditional or unconditional, will not...more
The IRS has issued new guidance giving sponsors of Safe Harbor 401(k) plans much greater flexibility to amend their plans during a plan year. This is welcome relief from the previous IRS position that had hobbled such plans....more
New IRS guidance adds two more events that allow participants to change their cafeteria plan elections outside of the annual open enrollment period. These events are designed to coordinate with the employer coverage rules and...more